Vale of Clwyd Senedd Member Gareth Davies MS has called for urgent reform to address declining educational outcomes, and rising levels of school violence during a Welsh Conservative debate in the Senedd this week. Mr Davies said that education should be the “great ladder of opportunity” for young people, but warned that under the current Welsh Government, that ladder has become “harder to climb than anywhere else in the UK.”
The debate referenced international PISA results, which showed Wales performing lowest of the UK nations in maths, reading and science for the fifth consecutive time. Mr Davies said the figures reflected a long-term decline in standards, discipline and outcomes, referencing that 20 per cent of primary school pupils leave school functionally illiterate, also lacking the numeracy and skills they need to thrive.
He pointed to growing concern from teachers, parents, and school staff about pupil behaviour and classroom disruption, citing the ongoing industrial action at Flint High School, where teachers have taken strike action over safety and behaviour concerns. He described the “desperate situation” which has caused “dedicated educators to walk out, simply because they no longer feel safe in their place of work.”
The Welsh Conservatives’ motion in the Senedd set out a plan to improve school standards, including tougher discipline policies, automatic exclusion for pupils bringing weapons into school, a ban on mobile phones in classrooms, and a return to evidence-based phonics teaching to support literacy, rather than the discredited ‘cueing’ strategy.
Mr Davies said that these measures were about restoring order, raising aspirations, and ensuring that every child in Wales receives the high-quality education they deserve.
Commenting, Gareth Davies MS said:
“Our young people deserve a world-class education where high achievement is lionised, and where staff a pupils feel safe in the classroom, but decades of mismanagement have left them falling behind their peers elsewhere in the UK.
“Poor leadership in government, which is soft on poor behaviour, no longer recognises the utility of examination, and discredited traditional teaching methods in favour of non-approved techniques, has led to a shocking decline in educational outcomes, and a high level of violence in schools.
“The Welsh Government must stop trying to reinvent the wheel and go back to basics, where success is measured by results, and where poor behaviour isn’t tolerated, giving children in North Wales and across the country the best possible start in life.”